Embrace Disruptive InnovationTraditional business is constantly being impacted by overwhelming and sudden shifts in the marketplace. This new normal is "disruptive innovation". Read this white paper to learn what disruptive innovation is and how your company can use cloud ERP to stay in the game. Download the white paper >

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Operations and Technology

A better approach to transportation managementOrganizations may be able to benefit from an approach to transportation management that combines the advantages of centralized and decentralized operations, writes Fabrizio Brasca of JDA Software. A company can do this by setting up a transportation management center that provides key services without interfering with "local transport operations when last-minute changes need to be made," he writes. Logistics Viewpoints blog
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Are you happy with your risk-management efforts?Many company leaders say their risk-management programs aren't getting the job done, according to a study by Deloitte Consulting. "To be effective, companies should take a holistic and integrated approach to managing supply chain risk and go beyond traditional approaches," said Deloitte's Kelly Marchese. IndustryWeek
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Get with the flow. How payment processing affects cash flow.Cash flow is the lubricant of business. Without a healthy cash flow, business dries up. It stops. It can't function. Which is why it is vital to keep the revenues coming in as the expenses go out. But there's one aspect of cash flow that many of us are not aware of. It is how managing credit cards and other such non-cash payments affect cash flow. Turns out it has a huge affect. Download the free guide today.

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Sales and Marketing

How to guard against turnover in your sales organizationNow that your salespeople have received their year-end commission checks, some of them may start looking for new opportunities, writes John Kenney. You can minimize turnover, however, by making better hires to begin with and by using a mentoring program to get representatives up to speed, he writes. You should also use exit interviews to learn from your mistakes. "This is not for every salesperson that leaves. If the person consistently contributed to the top line, their insight is priceless," he writes. Sales Benchmark Index/Sales & Marketing Effectiveness Blog
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A better approach for inside sales repsToo many inside sales representatives are focused on getting answers to certain questions rather than engaging in two-way conversations with prospects, writes Craig Ferrara. "When your teleprospecting team is more focused on the prospect's pains or needs, you are likely to find a higher percentage of those opportunities moving down the sales pipeline," he writes. Sales Prospecting Perspectives blog
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RFID Solutions: Supporting Lean ManufacturingLean manufacturing has been around for decades, but it's only in recent years that modern data collection and management techniques have made it possible for businesses of any size to implement a lean philosophy. Read an overview to learn how your business could go about selecting and implementing solutions.

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Policy Watch

LIFO, health care law among distributors' key 2013 policy issuesLegislation and regulatory action on health care, corporate taxes and the last-in, first-out accounting method will be closely watched in 2013, according to Jade West, senior vice president-government relations of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors. The federal health care law won't be repealed, she says, but there are upcoming actions on the employer mandate, the essential health benefits rule and the fate of the Independent Payment Advisory Board. Modern Distribution Management/Public Policy blog
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Can you still remember your company's values?A company's highfalutin statement of values won't count for much if nobody can remember it, writes Mary Jo Asmus. Keep your company's statement of purpose short and to the point, and consider investing in gimmicks to make them more memorable. "Print them on wallet-size cards, have them in your e-mail signature line and/or have an artist come up with pleasing wall hangings," Asmus suggests. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Leadership
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When companies have too many ideasIt's possible for companies to be too innovative for their own good, writes Stefan Lindegaard. If you're producing ideas faster than you can execute and bring them to market, then you're potentially wasting precious resources and putting all your company's actions at risk, Lindegaard argues. 15Inno.com (Denmark)
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NAW Insider

5 fundamentals every current and aspiring branch manager should master

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